Liberators: The Incredible Rescue
by Hypo Prower
Summary: Finally, the Liberators and the Freedom Fighters have set aside their differences and gone off to Robotropolis to rescue Geo, Blue, Sally, and Bunnie. But will they arrive in time before they're robots? Final in the Liberators trilogy.
1. Planning the Route

Chapter One

Geo, the green cat, struggled to get out of the machine he was strapped to. Blue, his sister, sighed lifelessly.

"Don't bother with it, Geo," she said. "We're kinda trapped here." She flailed her legs frustratingly. "And stupid Robotnik is gonna turn us into robots!"

Geo shot her a glance. "We might not be able to get outta here ourselves," he conceived. "But Tails and the other Liberators might be able to."

Sally Acorn and Bunnie Rabbot, who were also strapped to similar machines nearby, shot the two a glance. "You two saw that giant lot of robots," Sally sighed. "Neither Sonic OR Tails could get past it."

"Ah'm afraid you're right, Sal-gal," Bunnie said in her southern accent. "Ah…ah guess Robotnik's finally gonna turn alla me into a robot." Geo struggled again, but he soon stopped, gasping from fatigue.

"Stop it," Blue told her brother. "You'll only tire yourself out." Geo glared at her.

"Yeah, I'm gonna need all my strength when I'm a ROBOT!" He looked up at the ceiling of Robotnik's lair.

"Hurry, Tails…I know you can make it…"

Sonic whirled up his feet and readied to take off. "C'mon, guys, let's go save our friends!" Tails hurriedly grabbed his spine to stop him.

"Slow down," he advised. "We have no idea what we're getting ourselves into."

Sonic, Rotor and Antoine, the remaining Freedom Fighters, and Tails, Krystal, Robbie and Stripe, the remaining Liberators, stood around the pile of busted-up SwatBots. Sonic tapped his foot.

"Yeah, but Sal and Bunnie are just waiting to be turned into robots! We don't have any time to spare." Tails pondered for a moment. He then blinked and turned to the two waiting teams.

"Somebody needs to go down to the Freedom Fighters base and make sure that Uncle Chuck and Dulcy are OK," he said. "Then another squad needs to head down to Robotropolis. However, we need to go in squads of about three."

Rotor bowed his head. "I'm sure that Tails is just as capable as deactivating a robotizer than I am." He looked up at Sonic. "I'll go down and help with Freedom HQ." Sonic cocked his head.

"Are you sure, Rot? I mean, Unc and Dulcy can pretty well fend for themselves…" Rotor shook his head.

"It's OK. I'll just slow everyone down." He started down toward the Great Oak slide. "Just promise that you'll bring Bunnie and Sally back." Sonic smiled and gave him a thumbs-up.

"Will do, buddy. Now, are we ready to do this thing, or what?" Stripe tapped her foot.

"Maybe we should get ourselves a game plan, eh mates?" Tails nodded.

"Stripe's right. We still don't have a clue as to what we're going to be facing in Robotnik's lair." Krystal looked down.

"Then again…who do we know who WOULD know?" Sonic smirked and he thumbed his chest.

"I've been there loads of times, bro. I know that scrap of metal inside and out." Tails nodded.

"Well, that'll have to do for now. We'd better get moving…" he looked up at the setting sun. "Before we lose our light and it's too late."

Tails reached into his backpack and parted with a pencil and a piece of paper. "Alright, Sonic, since you know the area better than the rest of us, will you draw us a map of the region?" Sonic stared blankly at the paper.

"I don't know if I can do this," he replied. Krystal cocked her head.

"Well why not?" she demanded. Sonic shrugged.

"I…just know the place by running through it! I can't draw a map of any sorts…"

"Allow moi."

Everyone turned their head to Antoine, who grabbed the paper. "Ye know the area, ye blubber-headed scallywag?" Stripe asked. Robbie pulled on her tail.

"C'mon, Stripe, we've established a truce with the Freedom Fighters. Be nice." Stripe jerked her head around to the young raccoon.

"I'll be nice to yer tail if ye don't remove yer paw from it this _instant_!" she warned. Tails swished his tails at them.

"Quiet, you two," he muttered. Then he turned back to Antoine. "What were you saying?" Antoine bowed and bent down to draw on the paper.

"I've been to zis area just as many timez as Sonic has," he informed. "And, I might add, zhat I 'ave INCREDIBLE drawing skillz." Sonic rolled his eyes, but was surprised as Ant began to belt out a very detailed map of the area.

"Impressive!" Krystal whispered to herself. When Antoine was finished, Tails took the map and studied it.

"This is perfect." He turned to Sonic. "OK, now there are motion-sensor traps here…" he pointed to the location on Antoine's sketch. "…here, and here. We'll set off all of 'em if we go together into groups."

Tails turned to the rest of the group. "Robbie, Stripe, and Antoine…you guys will be our first cell. You go in and distract the robots and cameras." Krystal blinked warily.

"Yeah, but won't Robotnik suspect something if only three of us-members from two different teams-go in?" Tails smiled.

"That's exactly what I want him to do. Because then, after that, he'll stay in his little hide-away…and wait." Sonic punched his fists together.

"Yeah, and he'll get exactly what he's waiting for!" Tails shook his head.

"No, he won't. He'll wait for something that will never come." Robbie looked puzzled.

"You aren't making any sense, Tails. What do you mean he'll wait for nothing?" Tails glanced at Sonic.

"Because Sonic is going to go and grab our friends in the robotizer room while we mess with Robo-butt…subtlety." Krystal snapped her fingers.

"Of course!" she said with realization. "You and I can put bugs into Robotnik's computers. And while that's all happening, the other three will be un-knowingly destroying SwatBots…he won't be able to see because of our viruses attacking his monitors." Tails gave Krystal a thumbs-up.

"That's EXACTLY what I mean."

Sonic smiled inwardly at Tails. Thinking about how much he had grown up and matured since he left the Freedom Fighters almost brought a tear to his eye. Maybe he WAS better off running his own team. If anything, he was most certainly capable of doing so.

"OK, we don't have much time," Tails reported. "I predict that Robotnik will attempt to robotize Geo, Blue, Sally and Bunnie in about ten minutes. He's most likely already aware of our presence, so let's go." He pointed out to the horizon, where Robotnik's horrid lair wait as the small band of friends plotted the rescue.

"Cell one, move out!"


	2. The Distraction and the Action

Chapter Two

"_Antoine, come in! This is Sonic! How are things looking over there?"_

Antoine glanced down at his two-way radio. He hurriedly picked it up and slapped it on his face. "Zorry, Sonic, but I can't talk right now! T'ings is looking…deadly! Antoine, out!"

Strapping the radio on his belt, Antoine jumped out of the way in time for another laser to miss him. Stripe leapt up and sliced the motion-sensor mechanism.

"Thar we go," she commented. "But it won't be enough to hold ol' Robot-head for long. We'd better have the second line move in, mates." Robbie looked at Antoine.

Antoine grabbed the walkie-talkie again and radioed Sonic. "Sonic? Zis is Antoine! We 'ave destroyed ze motion-sensor lasers, zo we need 'ou to move in. Ovah and out!"

Sonic heard Antoine's radio click off and looked at his teammates. "All right, gang, time to juice and jam!" Tails and Krystal nodded.

"We'll give you the signal when it's time to rescue Geo and Blue," Krystal replied. "Until then, lay low."

Tails grabbed Krystal's hands and flew up toward a building. "Where are you taking us?" Krystal asked.

"To the main computer buildings. We should be able to get a good wireless signal there and hack into Robotnik's computer." Krystal lifted her feet before Tails landed on the ground. The two dashed in.

"I wish I would have thought to grab some tools before we left the Liberator base," Tails grumbled. He looked around at the place. "Here, this will do."

The two-tailed fox grabbed a miniature camera and some wires. Krystal felt some cords protruding out of the wall. "I think that this one's the right one." Tails glanced at it and nodded approvingly.

"OK. You run the cable in while I try to figure out how to turn on this camera." Krystal pulled out a mini-laser and cut a hole in the cables. She then ran the spare one that Tails discovered through to Robotnik's computer.

"OK, it's ready for the camera." Tails pressed a few buttons on it and mounted it on the spare cable.

"We should have live feed in five…four…three…two…one…" As if on cue, the camera made a buzzing noise and flashed, as if recording something. Tails smirked and waved.

"Hey, Robo-BUTT-nik!" he teased. "How's life treatin' ya?" He turned and glanced at Krystal. "Radio Sonic." Tails then turned back at the camera and made a funny face.

At Robotnik's lair, the great villain sputtered with surprise. "You two-tailed twit! How could you do such a thing? You're just an ignorant little kid!" Tails grew angry.

"_Hey!"_ he snapped. _"I'm not a little kid! I have my own team now!"_ Robotnik smiled deviously.

"Ah, yes, the puny little Liberators. Way to scatter what little forces you have even more, Tails."

Back with Tails and Krystal, Krystal pulled out her radio and whispered to Sonic. "Sonic, this is Krystal! You've got 90 seconds." Sonic laughed over the walkie-talkie.

"That _much time? I'll be there and back before you even know I'm gone! Sonic out!"_

Krystal glanced nervously at the walkie-talkie, but Sonic had already snapped his off. Sighing, she remembered how mean Sonic had been to the Liberators in the past; now she trusted him with her friend's lives.

"Just…be careful," she whispered to herself.

Sonic didn't really remember what happened when he sped down to the robotizer room. He didn't even remember going down there. However, when he DID get down there, he knew he would never forget what he saw again.


	3. Failure

Chapter Three

Things were usually fast-paced for Sonic. In fact, he often went to bed thinking that the day had gone by SO fast that he hardly had time to enjoy it. But in the certain moment he was in, things trudged by so slowly that he knew it had to be some sort of nightmare.

Snively!

The team of Liberators and Freedom Fighters had completely forgotten about him. He smiled wickedly at Sonic in front of a robotizer with Geo trapped in, trying to force his way out.

"You were too late this time, you mangy hedgehog!" the Robotnik lackey cackled. Before Sonic could react, he pressed a big red button on the robotizer.

"Get outta here, Slime-ly!" Sonic screamed. However, Snively pressed ANOTHER button on a different remote. A huge metal case popped out from the floor and encased Sonic.

"Sugah-hog!" Bunnie cried in despair. For the first time, the hedgehog noticed his other friends tied up on the floor. Sonic desperately whipped his head around to Geo in the robotizer. The cat writhed in pain as his once-furry paws slowly were turned to metal.

"No…!" Blue cried out. Sonic struggled to escape from the robotizer, but there was no way he could get out. Meanwhile, Geo's tail turned metal and spiky as he began foaming out the mouth.

"I…can't…get…OUTTA HERE!" he said between convulsions.

Suddenly, the wall broke down right behind the robotizer and a furry, orange ball spin-dashed his way through the machine. A half-robotized Geo lay writhing on the ground while Tails bent down to examine him.

"Tails! You OK, big guy?" Sonic asked. Tails jerked his head up at Sonic.

"I…we…you…" he couldn't complete his sentence.

A dumbfounded Snively stared at him. "You're just that two-tailed brat, though!" he said unbelievingly. Tails smirked and spun into another ball.

"You better believe I am, Slime-ly!" he hollered. "And this two-tailed brat is gonna rain all over your parade!!"

Before Tails could attack, though, Snively dashed out cowardly. Tails landed stiffly on his feet and began to untie Blue.

"What happened to Krystal?" Sonic asked as Tails worked. He looked worriedly at Blue as she ran over and wept over her brother's unmoving body.

"That's why I came here," Tails explained as he untied Sally. "I could totally remember see her face like two seconds before…and then, Robotnik came and tracked what room we were in using a two-way live feed detector." As Sally was freed, Tails worked on Bunnie.

"Then he snatched Krystal up, and I couldn't get to her with a ray beam gun shoved in my nose." He glanced down and looked worried. "I was so stupid. I knew better than to use just any old wire to distract Robotnik."

Tails pulled out a mini-laser and began to singe a hole in Sonic's metal case. When the hedgehog escaped, Tails looked over at Geo. "Is he OK? I was too late, wasn't I?" Blue stroked his face as the cat began to blink awake.

"Huh…? Wha-? Blue? Is it…robotizer time already?" He glanced down at his robotic legs and tail. "No…this can't be…!" Bunnie tried her best to muster up a smile.

"Hey, it's alright, suh, bein' part robot isn't that bad." Sally nodded.

"That's right, Geo," she agreed. "Bunnie is half-robot as well, and she's practically our best Freedom Fighter." Sonic smirked and tapped his foot.

"All except for me, of course." Tails flung his head around the stared at the blue hedgehog, misery staining his eyes.

"I trusted you, Sonic. I trusted you with Geo's life." He turned his head. "I know that I probably wasn't your fault. I had forgotten all about Snively too. But…you failed this one, Sonic." Sonic's smirk turned to a frown.

"I…know." Bunnie and Sally turned surprisingly at Sonic. They had expected a smart remark out of their blue boy's mouth, but all the came out was sincerity.

"I've failed a lot of things, dude. I failed saving Geo. I failed rescuing Uncle Chuck in time before HE was robotized. But most importantly…" He crouched down and placed his hand on Tails' shoulder. "I failed our friendship. I was the worst friend in the world. And now…look what happened."

Tails looked up at Sonic tears welling up in his eyes. Sonic had never spoken to him that way. He was…flattered.

"We'll deal with that later…" he muttered. Sonic looked a bit stung, but Tails used the last of his emotions to muster a smile to his friend. "Right now, we've gotta save Krystal." Sally blinked.

"That reminds me," she said. "What ever happened to Robbie, Stripe, Antoine and Rotor?" Sonic gave her a thumbs-up.

"They radioed me a bit ago, Sal. They said that they would be standing by on the edge of Robotropolis and waiting for our next orders."

Blue gently picked up Geo's body. "Tails…" she trailed off. Tails turned to her.

"You can head back to Liberator HQ, if you want…"

Blue shook her head. "No," she said firmly. "I'm going to show that big-gutted Robotnik exactly what I'm made of." She stared on the horizon. "For Geo."


	4. You Make Me Sick, You Pig

Chapter Four

Antoine turned around swiftly at the sound of a great booming noise. He called to the rest of his group.

"Take cover! Zhere is a ZwatBot coming!" Robbie squinted at the horizon and laughed.

"That's no SwatBot, Antoine," he chuckled. Stripe crossed her arm and smirked.

"Aye, it be the walruses, me scurvy-dog." Rotor bounded up to Antoine and smiled.

"Hi guys. Did I miss anything?" he asked. Antoine pointed over to the horizon, where Robotropolis lay.

"Sonic, Tails and Krystal 'ave gone in to save Sally, Bunnie, Blue and Geo." He turned back to Rotor. "We were the distraction. We 'ave radioed Sonic and told him zhat we are standing by."

Stripe scratched her head. "Still, Sonic should've called us by now. Wonder what's keepin' the spiny-butt anyway?"

"Geo…"

Tails put his hand on Blue's shoulder. "Listen, Blue…it's really OK if you go back to the HQ…I understand." Blue shook her head.

"No, no, it's fine. I would be better if a good mechanic like you was at the HQ to derobotize him." Tails smiled modestly.

"Aw, forget it." Then he looked determined. "Now, c'mon, we need to go save Krystal. Here's what I was thinking we could do…"

"Wait."

Tails, Blue, Sally and Bunnie looked over at Sonic, who was looking pretty miserable at that point. "Listen, Tails…I feel responsible for this." Sally shook her head.

"No one is blaming you Soni-"

"Well, they should." Sonic looked at the ground, and then to Tails. "If I would have just saved Geo in the first place, you could have concentrated on saving Krystal more. It's time that I make up for that." Tails cocked his head cautiously.

"What did you have in mind, then?"

"Lemme make the plan this time."

Tails paused for a moment and pondered. Then he glanced at Blue and Geo. "That OK with you, Blue?" The cat nodded slowly and picked up Geo. She stood up with the group.

"As long as we get to thrash some Robotnik in the end, then yeah, it's cool." Bunnie tugged on her ear.

"Uh, why did you ask those two, sugah-Tails?" she asked. Tails turned to his former co-worker.

"Because that's what we do in the Liberators. We make sure the plan is fine with everybody. But forget about that…c'mon! We need to hurry."

Sonic tapped his foot as he thought a moment, and then winked at Tails. "Don't worry bud, hurry's my middle name. That and I have a plan!"

Robotnik thrust Krystal into the robotizer in his lab. Krystal struggled to get out. "Stupid Snively," he muttered. "Can't have a henchmen do a doctor's job." He then spoke louder so Krystal could hear him.

"Well, I couldn't have your little cat friend, but I did manage to make a pretty good catch after all, didn't I?" Krystal barred her teeth at Robotnik.

"There's no way that you're going to get away with this, you know! Tails and the other Liberators are going to come and rescue me!" Robotnik chortled.

"Oh? Just like SONIC managed to save Geo?" The doctor turned on one of his TV screens and showed an image of a half-robotized Geo. Krystal gasped sharply.

"Geo!" she whispered harshly.

Robotnik laughed. "Well, so fitting that the last thing you see as a mammal is one of your friends, no?" He pressed a button on the side of the machine. "Robotizer, start!"

Suddenly, the door crashed open, and Robbie and Stripe walked up to Robotnik. "Turn it off, Eggman!" Robbie ordered. 

Dr. Robotnik snickered a bit, and then started to laugh hysterically. "Oh, please! Like a couple of little undersized brats are going to-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Rotor and Antoine leapt on top of Robotnik. "Shut up!" Rotor said, removing a wrench from his belt and whacking him with it. 

Inside the Robotizer, Krystal began to get worried as the machine began to whir, and a couple of loose hairs in the machine turned into screws.

"HELP!" Krystal called. "Someone, please, help!"

While Antoine and Rotor made work of Robotnik, Sonic and Tails crashed through the doorway. Sonic hurriedly spun into a ball and sliced his way through the machine, while Tails hurriedly punched in a few things on the control panel.

Krystal fell unconscious on the ground as Sally and Bunnie came to retrieve her. "Alright guys, that's enough!" Sonic called. "We've gotta go!" The walruses and the coyote ran away from Robotnik, who lay on the ground, defeated. Tails waited as the others dashed off, though. Blue made her way into the room, handing Tails a black-out Geo.

Blue walked up to Robotnik's head. "You make me sick, you pig." Dealing him a massive kick in the face, Blue ran with Tails as the team finally made their way out of Robotnik's dark, dark city. 


	5. Where I Belong

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Out in the distance, a gigantic explosion lit up the night sky. Sonic and the Freedom Fighters, and Tails and the Liberators watched all of Robotropolis go up in smoke. Sonic crossed his arms.

"Hmph. Serves the fat guy right," he concluded. Tails sighed.

"OK, now that that's over, we'd better get Geo back to the Liberator's HQ and derobotize him." Sally glanced at the six Liberators, and let her gaze rest on Tails.

"Sweetie, do you want us to help with the process?" Tails shot an irritable glance at the princess.

"T-that's fine, Sally. We can handle this on our own. We've already derobotized somebody else." Blue bowed her head.

"Yeah, from the same family, too."

Krystal put her arm around Blue's shoulders. "We'll get him back, too," she affirmed. "There's no way any of our members are going to be a robot."

With that, Tails and his gang of Liberators trudged back home, supporting their lifeless teammate. However, all the while, they stood tall.

Blue carefully sat her brother into the robotizer in the Liberator's HQ. "This won't hurt, right?" she asked Tails. The fox shook his head.

"Wait!"

Tails turned his head to see Robbie raising his hand. "Can press the button, Tails?" he asked. "Geo is one of my best friends ever. Please??" Stripe stepped up by the raccoon.

"C'mon mate, let the lad press the stinkin' button." She smiled smugly and rested her hand on her cutlass. "And while yer at it, lemme help 'im."

Tails cocked his head confusingly at the two raccoons, but they were by far serious. "Uh, OK. Press that small blue one on the left."

Robbie and Stripe walked over to the machine and gently laid both their index fingers on the blue button. Just as they applied force, Stripe leaned over and pecked Robbie on the cheek.

"That's fer not being a scurvy dog," she whispered. Robbie's whole face turned light red.

"Er, um…"

Before Robbie could say anything, the derobotizer made a loud whirring noise. A bright light flashed for a long time before the machine finally came to a halt.

Tails held his breath as he slowly opened the door to the chamber. Suddenly, a green hand shot out and grabbed the door. It applied force, and Geo came rocketing out of the derobotizer, chipper as ever.

Blue smiled brightly. "Geo!" she cried. The two cats fell into each other's arms. 

Blue began crying with tears of joy. "C'mon now, sis, it's fine. Don't worry; I'm not part-robot anymore." Robbie squealed with delight.

"Geo! I knew that you could overcome this!" Geo ran over and gave the raccoon a noogie, knocking off his cap. 

"You knew right, dude!" Geo put Robbie down and looked up at Tails and Krystal. "Um, so…what happened after I blacked out?"

Krystal smiled at the Green cat. "A lot. I was kidnapped, the Liberators teamed up with the Freedom Fighters to save me, and we both lived happily ever after."

Geo smiled. "Oh. Good to hear it."

Suddenly, there was a blunt noise heard above the ramp-like entrance. Tails furrowed his brow and walked up to the base of the slide, kicking away the pillows that lay at the bottom.

"Who's there?" he called up.

The rock that blocked off the entrance up top was lifted up, and a blue face poked its way through. "It us, dude! Can we come in?"

Tails cocked his head and nodded wordlessly.

One by one, Sonic and the gang of Freedom Fighters slid down the ramp and landed with a thud on the pillows below. Krystal walked over and crossed her arms as the newcomers composed themselves.

"And just what do you guys want?" she asked. "We called a truce on the mission, and that's it. We're now officially enemies." Sonic smiled clumsily.

"Whoa, back off, Krystal! We aren't here to make violence or anything…" Sally stood up and put her hand on Sonic's chest.

"Let me say this," she muttered to the hedgehog. Sonic rolled his eyes.

Sally smiled at the group of Liberators that was now crowded around the older group.

"We just wanted to ask, if maybe…Tails would come back to the Freedom Fighters."

As Tails began to open his mouth in reply, Bunnie stopped him. "We all miss ya, sugah."

"You make a great mechanic, now that I see that robotizer over in the corner, not to mention Geo," Rotor added.

You're quite ze tactician," Antoine put in.

"Not only that…" Sally glanced worriedly at Sonic.

"I miss ya something bad, little bro'." 

Tails sighed wearily and looked down at the ground. Then he glanced at his anxious teammates, smiling at him, surprisingly. Tails raised an eyebrow at them.

"What are you guys so happy about?" he asked. Krystal hugged Tails.

"Cuz we know that you want to rejoin the Freedom Fighters," she pointed out. Blue smiled at Tails and joined in on the hug.

"We also know that you're troubled about choosing whether to be a part of the team you started in the first place, you follow that certain obligation you feel to your former teammates."

"Forget about it." Geo smirked and put his hand on Blue's shoulder. "We can go just fine without you, Tails. Yeah, we'll lose a valuable member, but it'd be worth it to make you happy."

Robbie patted Tails on the back. "Besides, you've been friends with those guys WAY longer than us. Go for it, Tails!"

Stripe leapt up on Tails' shoulders and placed her pirate hat on his head. "Aye, from now on, ye'll be known as 'Cap'n Tails' to us. Yer captain part comes from the fact that ye've led us through some bad times, but got yer crew to safety. That's what bein' a cap'n is all about, argh!"

Tails looked around longingly at all his crew's faces. Each member possessed something special, and he would miss every single one of them.

Finally, the two-tailed fox looked down at the ground. "That actually won't be necessary, you guys," he sounded. "Because I'm staying right here--where I belong."

A big whoop was heard and the Liberators all laughed aloud with joy. Sonic and the Freedom Fighters, however, looked disappointed. Tails noticed this, and turned around to face them.

"Look, I wasn't going to try and make you guys cry or anything," he concluded. "I just knew that…I belonged in a different team. A team my own age. My own class. And with people that…can understand everything I go through."

Sonic wiped a tear away, and knelt down to put his hand on Tails' shoulder. "And…I understand that," he sobbed. "I'm just really gonna miss you, Tails."

"I'm gonna miss you too," the fox replied. The two friends hugged like more than friends. They hugged like brothers.

Sally sighed and gazed up at the sky. "Well, we'd better get back to the base and check in with Dulcy and Charles." Sonic loosened himself from Tails' grasp and started up the ramp.

"Listen, we'll…visit each other sometime. You hear?" Tails smiled and saluted.

With that, the Freedom Fighters disappeared.

Krystal put her hands behind her back. "Um…Tails? Listen, you could've gone with the Freedom Fighters if…"

Tails smiled at his friend. "No need," he concluded. "Because right here, with you guys…" Geo, Blue, Robbie and Stripe hugged their foxy leader. "Is right here where I belong!"

Fin


End file.
